her at his side.
What was that about?
That if marriage was the end game, it would be all right eventually?
“What do we do?” she asked, her voice quiet as she stared at the floor between them.
“Ask for a few minutes alone, unrecorded, to talk about it. Then decide.” What would he do? Was he really willing to marry a woman he’d known for a total of an hour? A literal run in, a very awkward dinner, and a book club where they’d said about four words to each other.
Regardless of the sparks he’d felt as her hands rested against his chest as he put his hands on her hips to keep them from falling over, this couldn’t be a good idea, could it?
“Do whatever it takes. Nothing illegal or unethical, but whatever you have to do to turn yourself back into a baseball media darling, do it.”
Wyatt doubted his agent meant for him to marry someone he’d just met, but backing out of a contract would likely earn his agent’s wrath. Not directed at Wyatt once he explained, but wrath nonetheless.
Living together wasn’t an option. Not only because of what likely appeared in Madi’s HEA TV contract, but because of Wyatt’s own personal beliefs. He’d violated one of his core beliefs before. Those nights when he couldn’t sleep and stared at the ceiling in the dark, it still ate at him.
The comparisons to Tim Tebow weren’t of Wyatt’s choosing, and not entirely accurate, though pretty close. His faith, and all that entailed, had always been important to him.
But that one time, at a house on the shore of the...
The door opening cut the thought short. He and Madi both looked to see everyone exiting the room except Christopher and Mama Beach. A production assistant disconnected Madi’s microphone and sent them into the conference room.
When the door closed behind them, Mama Beach motioned for him and Madi to take a seat.
“Christopher has been through the negotiations with HEA TV before and has a unique perspective,” she explained. “He heard everything that was said in here so he can add his insight.”
“They want us to get married, don’t they?” Madi asked.
Mama Beach nodded. “I’m sorry, sweet girl. The only way out of it is to break the contract. You have to come up with the funds to buy out your portion. Wyatt can’t help you. Neither can I or Christopher or anyone else. The only help you can get is a loan from a bank.”
“Why does it matter where the money comes from?” Wyatt asked her. “As long as they get paid.”
The judge looked weary and in need of a hug, not unlike the ones she bestowed on everyone else. “We could fight it. I don’t know that it would hold up in court, because you’re right, but it was in there when you both signed it. Legally, you’d probably end up in the clear, but I know Madi and I discussed it so she knew what she was signing.”
“I did, too,” Wyatt confirmed. “But it’s not an issue for me. It would hurt some, but I could do it. What’s at stake for me is my reputation as a man of my word going into a contract year.”
“Then it’s up to the two of you if you go through with this marriage.”
“What do you think, Christopher? Isn’t this basically how you ended up married to Julia?” Madi clearly knew the host outside of this show.
“It is,” he confirmed. “She was my nanny, but when HEA TV found out she was living at my house with her son and my daughter, then photos on a beach were taken out of context, they insisted we get married or they’d consider the contract breeched. I couldn’t afford that at the time.” He gave a half-smile and a small chuckle. “I didn’t think so then, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Would you perform it?” Madi asked her aunt. “If we go through with this, is it a wedding you would be willing to perform?”
Mama Beach looked from Madi to Wyatt and back again. “I would.”
“Then can you give us a moment alone?” Madi reached across the table and grasped her aunt’s hand. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
A few seconds later, Wyatt and Madi were the only ones left in the room.
“What do you think?” he asked her.
“Mama Beach wouldn’t agree to perform the ceremony if she thought it would end in disaster. She has a sense about these things. She married Christopher and Julia